Effexor, Venlafaxine: What's Your Dose?

[gary_2.0]

I was wondering what dose of Venlafaxine others have been prescribed, and if any one is on a similar high prescription as me?

I take about three ounces, is that a lot?

No, ok I take 300mg a day, which is still a fairly high amount.

Is it just me? What's Your Dose?

[cupcakes2009]

Hi i take 225mg of Venlafaxine and its worked great for me, im having a little blip right now but its anxiety and worry that im getting ill again that's doing it, but fighting it hard :D i was led to believe my dose was quite high :D

[Carys]

HI Gary, my dose at it's highest was around the level yours is now....can't recall exactly as it was so long ago, maybe 285 mg or just over 300 mg ? My dose now is 37.5 mg daily. Is it concerning you how high the dose is ?

[Dahlia]

Hi. My dose is 150mg. I tried a higher dose but got more anxious. I don't think Effexor has been the best AD for me in terms of reducing anxiety - and it certainly hasn't helped my low mood.

Dahlia

[deb141]

Dhalia, thats exactly how i felt with effexor. It calmed things for a while but i just felt like wasnt moving forward with life. I was on 150mg and felt like i was living in a fog, i can't imagine what i would be like on 300mg. I have previously been on flouxetine for anxiety and it worked great, my life was brill. I am now back on flouxetine (only started them 8 days ago) after weaning off effexor and keeping everything crossed.
I guess everyone has to find the right drug for them, unfortunately effexor was not for me but i did give it my best shot.

[gary_2.0]

I'm not convinced it's the right drug for me. But the Psyc. i was seeing was hopeless. Even my GP had to privately conclude as much. I don't have any support, and haven't done for several years now. I realise I ought to do something about it, but have no faith in the system, or those I consulted within it, whatsoever.

Hmph, is the only polite word I can summon right now. :shrug:

[Dahlia]

I felt the same way, Gary. I told my psych I didn't think it was working very well and she simply kept saying 'it is VERY effective'. Erm yes, but not for me!! When she discharged me, she said I seemed much better, and it was due to the Effexor. I said - well it took 1 year and 3 months for me to feel anything like normal, which seems to be a very long time for a medication to kick in.

Now I am just seeing my GP for medication. I have read up on meds, a lot of it learned from here, and we kind of work together to try different options. I have just cross tapered from Effexor back onto Sertraline and hope to see some more improvement.

[gary_2.0]

Now I am just seeing my GP for medication. I have read up on meds, a lot of it learned from here, and we kind of work together to try different options. Sounds very wise Dahlia, I think you're doing the best thing. Best wishes. :)

[dk]

Ive been on 375mg of venlafaxine for 9 years!!! Think it helped a bit at first but getting angry and irritable alot now.

[gary_2.0]

Ive been on 375mg of venlafaxine for 9 years!!! Think it helped a bit at first but getting angry and irritable alot now.

Have you consulted with anyone as to whether you should change the dosage or indeed the medication itself perhaps? 9 years is a long time - might be worth a re-think?

[Tigertim36]

Hi All,

I've been on 300mg Efexor XR (Venlafaxine) for 12 years now... Generally it works and allows me to function fairly normally!! I do have my ups and downs but not too often. My Gp and I have tried coming down to 225mg then 150mg but it has never been for a long period of time as usually something bad happens and we agree to go back to 300mg!! I have had minor side effects which (for me) are loss of libido..totally, sweating badly and weight gain. Having said that... to be able to function relatively normally far outweighs them!!

Cheers
Tim

[James1983]

Im on one 75mg tablet a day after an evening meal and before bed.:winks:

[Dr J]

@James Do you sleep ok taking it before bed?

I'm on a 75mg capsule per day since late November. Changed over from Citalopram which I felt was helping my mood be more pleasant, but wasn't helping when acute anxiety struck, which was the reason I started ADs.
Since starting on Venlafaxine (Bonilux XL), my general mood has plummeted, and I know it's part of how the different types of drugs work, and diff side effects etc, so I've been hanging on with them as people say they take time to work.
As yet, I have not been in a panic situation, so I have no idea if they are doing me any good or not.

One thing I have noticed:
Over the last week, being Christmas, I've been out drinking a fair bit, and forgot to take my Ven for about 3/4 days. What started out feeling like the worst hangover I've ever had seemed to morph into a killer flu, and up until yesterday I was restlessly rattling around feeling like some sort of junkie. I took a 75mg yesterday, then one today, and the "flu" appears to be subsiding. If this is the kind of withdrawal I have to look forward to one day, I'm not sure that I want to go upping my dose if this 75 does nothing for me.

Scary.

[nazanin]

hiii...3weeks passed,and i can not feel really better now... i am on 3 37.5 dosage now... will it help? is it soon to decide to change my med?! i used citaloprame for 3 years it was great for me... do you think this ven works as good as citalopram?!!! help me with your advice and exprience plzzzz.

[saffy]

I've been on venlafaxine for a few months. i'm on 150mg dose but am going up to 300mg soon cos my dep is very bad. i don't seem to have much luck with anti-dep meds. i've tried prozac, sertraline, seroxat and citalopram b4 that. They didn't really have much effect at all.

[Devonclaire]

Hi, I have ben on 3 different ssri's and then 30mg mirtazapine, I have today been to my dr and he is changing me to 37.5 venlafaxine daily, everyone seems to be talking about alot higher dosages.
I am on it for depression not so much the anxiety.
Has anyone been on 37.5 and if so what if any side effects they had, also what level of depression you have?
Thanks

[mytoy78]

Hi, I have ben on 3 different ssri's and then 30mg mirtazapine, I have today been to my dr and he is changing me to 37.5 venlafaxine daily, everyone seems to be talking about alot higher dosages.
I am on it for depression not so much the anxiety.
Has anyone been on 37.5 and if so what if any side effects they had, also what level of depression you have?
Thanks


Hi there,


I'm on 225mg of Venlaflaxine a day, so I'm not too sure what it is like on a lower dosage. I take it as I technically hve "severe" depression, alothuogh I'm better than I was when I first started taking it.

My reason for responding to your message is to say be carefull with this drug...it is horrible if you miss a dosage. I'm trying to come off it now as it has virtually killed my libido, however my doc recommeneded mitrazapine, which so far has been shocking (I'm only on day two).

I'm a bit lost as to what to do, I hope you find the right course for you


Colin

[sarah1984]

I started on 75mg Venlafaxine on Jan 12th, dose was increased to 150mg on 1st Feb and again to 225mg on 9th March. I've yet to notice any real improvement and I'm seeing my psych on 31st. I'm going to ask him for an appointment to see him again in 4 weeks time and if I haven't noticed any improvement by then it will be time to try another anti-depressant....

[deepreason]

In the last couple of months I've reduced my Venlafaxine dose to zero. Previously it was 300mg for a year or so.

I only skim read the thread so apologies if it's already been mentioned but it's worth noting that VFX has a tip-over point at about the 225mg dosage: at the lower doses it only works by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, once you get into the mid level doses it starts to work on your norepinepherine as well and at the really high doses you get a triple whammy of serotonin, norepinepherine and dopamine. All 3 of these are commonly known as "feel good" chemicals and are responsible for your mood.

One other thing I'd mention about VFX dosages is to be aware of discontinuation syndrome: the more you take and the longer you take it for, the harder it can be when it comes time to give it up. I hope I'm not scaremongering but I wish I'd known a little more about it before I started taking it.

[gary_2.0]

In the last couple of months I've reduced my Venlafaxine dose to zero. Previously it was 300mg for a year or so.

I only skim read the thread so apologies if it's already been mentioned but it's worth noting that VFX has a tip-over point at about the 225mg dosage: at the lower doses it only works by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, once you get into the mid level doses it starts to work on your norepinepherine as well and at the really high doses you get a triple whammy of serotonin, norepinepherine and dopamine. All 3 of these are commonly known as "feel good" chemicals and are responsible for your mood.

One other thing I'd mention about VFX dosages is to be aware of discontinuation syndrome: the more you take and the longer you take it for, the harder it can be when it comes time to give it up. I hope I'm not scaremongering but I wish I'd known a little more about it before I started taking it.

No not scaremongering at all. Very sensible advice.

I've been on it now for about, well I'm not too sure - I suppose I should check, but 6 plus years I'd say. I'm not really sure it helps that much and frankly I think that's a long time to be taking anything.

I'm just getting the courage to contact my GP again, so I should push myself to suggest a change. I can't keep living this way stuck indoors. Some of my interests allow me to remain occupied at home, but others like photography and music depend largely on making it out the front door.

[brit]

I was on it for 7.5 years at 75mg daily.
I vaguely remember going up to 150mg for a short while but it made me very sick.
After seeing a brilliant counseller last year i decided to start weaning off it, so i dropped to 37.5mg per day.
After a week or two of feeling pretty bad i did improve -i felt more alert and more 'me'
I took this dose for about 9 months, but started feeling light headed, tired and just not right.
After a few failed attempts to cut down some more by breaking up the pills i have managed to withdraw now using Fluoxetine.
My last Venlafaxine pill was 2 weeks ago.
I'm now withdrawing from the Fluoxetine, but thats a different story for another thread!

[RainbowGirl]

I'm on 300mg daily.

[gary_2.0]

@brit: Withdrawal is terrible. However I did not attempt this under medical supervision, which I should hope is better than my experience. Well done brit. you've clearly made really significant progress.

@RainbowGirl: Welcome to the 300 club. Sorry there's no t-shirt or badge to match this dubious achievement. How long have you been on this dose? (love your user name :))

[Splat*]

Hey, can I join the 300mg club too? Plus lots of other meds, and just come off a second AD aswell as the venlafaxine cos it made me quite ill.

[Moley]

I have been on venlafaxine for 4 months now and have gone from 75mg a day split am and pm to 225mg still split. I am not finding a benefit at all to this med. I am on this mainly for major depression but I do also suffer with anxieties especially social. I am finding that my mood is really not improving. Before this I was taking sertraline and it was a nightmare it was like living in constant darkness and was actually causing alot of suicidal thoughts. As soon as this was realised I was taken off it asap. Am still hoping to find a medication to suit me/

[Muchbetter333]

I was taking 300mg (2x 150) venlafaxine a few months back. Now i'm 'hovvering' between 100-150 a day. Within the first week my mood improved 10-20%, so i knew this would work for me eventually. My doc recommended i shouldn't go higher than 150mg a day. Each increase of ven gave me about a 20% improvement. I researched the web & ignored my doc's advice -(NOT recommended) & went up to 225 then 300mg of venlafaxine. At 300mg dosage i was 90% better with my anxiety & depression. After consultation with a phsyc i was allowed to stay on 300mg for 3-4 months ONLY. Apparently venlafaxine can affect the heart at high dosage. Now i'm back down to 100-150 & doing well. Previously, i had 8 GREAT years with paroxetine. The 'feel good' emotion i had was almost euphoric for the first few years & i really miss pax. In reply to the previous post who has been on ven for 4 months with no improvement - 4 months is TOO long to wait. You would surely feel something in the first 4-6 weeks. Paroxetine is a super drug -if it works. Mirtazapine is another drug with good fast results but can make you gain some weight. But as a doc once said to me "wouldn't you rather be happy & a little heavier than sad & slim". She was RIGHT.:yesyes: